chadwich Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 Hi everyone! I'm walking down the same road as a lot of you, and I have some questions along the way! I'm in the process of getting my baddies removed and I'm looking for ways to improve my score in the meantime with some positive tradelines. Currently my "goodies" are a $5k USAA secured card and a $250 revolving line with Fingerhut. I'm not in a position to get a mortgage or auto loan. What other positives could I add to my credit report? I want to keep hard pulls at a minimum. I've heard others mention getting a personal loan and paying it off over time. Problem with that is USAA doesn't do loans for less than $2500. Would a credit union offer a smaller loan? Also have read about buying positive tradelines. Has anyone had any success with this lately? I know that supposedly it is no longer going to be effective at some point, however the article I read questioned it. Does this still work? I don't have any friends to piggyback on, so I would need a reputable place to purchase. Are there any other ideas out there for me? PS - What's the difference between fako/fico/real credit scores? How can you tell the difference between what you're getting? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 The only scores that matter to people that are going to lend you money care about come from FICO. Everything else is FAKO...maybe (BIG maybe)...FAKO's can be useful in monitoring your progress, but just realize that they're meaningless. FICO scores are only available from MyFICO.com Buying positive tradelines is a scam. Don't...period. IMO, you should concentrate on getting rid of the "baddies" before you look for more credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sister Outsider Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 I can't answer on the first part of your post, but I can add something to the P.S. FICO scores ARE the real scores. They are the ones that count and lenders look at. FAKO scores are the ones that credit monitoring companies give you, and they are the company's best estimate of the REAL, FICO score (although some people say that they are not close.) I have used FAKO scores in the past to see when there is positive or negative movement on my credit reports, although you never really know how much it actually corresponds with FICO (the real ones) scores unless you purchase them. Does that make sense? Sister Outsider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 @chadwich - Credit unions would possible do a smaller line of credit. Call around. There are some good ones in Arizona. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CordusAdmin Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 @chadwich - we recently added an article about how to rebuild your credit without using credit cards. May have a few ideas for you to use. http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/build-your-credit.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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